A Juárez teenager who was fatally shot by a Border Patrol agent two years ago allegedly was not throwing rocks at the agent, according to videotapes reviewed by the U.S. law firm representing the boy's family.

Hilliard & Shadowen, LLC, has filed a brief with the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals on behalf of the family of Sergio Adrian Hernandez Guereca, the 15-year-old who was killed by gunfire in 2010, that lays out the reasons for why the lawyers believe the shooting was unjustified.

REPORTER

Diana Washington Valdez

U.S. officials have contended that the agent shot the youth in self-defense.

"The FBI originally issued a press release stating that Hernandez Guereca and other youths 'had surrounded' the agent, who was arresting another teenager near the Paso del Norte bridge at the U.S.-Mexico border in El Paso, Texas," Hilliard & Shadowen said in a statement today. "Three videotapes of the incident later proved that no one had surrounded the agent, and also disproved suggestions that (Hernandez) had thrown a rock at the agent."

The law firm based in Austin, Texas, also alleges that a Department of Justice inquiry confirmed later that the boy had not thrown any rocks, which if true would toss out the government's self-defense claim.

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"As President Obama enjoys the reelection delivered to him by Hispanic immigrants, his administration continues to deny basic justice to those who are the victims of brutality - and death - at the hands of U.S. Border Patrol guards at the U.S.-Mexico border," said Bob Hilliard, a lawyer with Hilliard & Shadowen. "Ten such killings have occurred at the border in the last five years."

No one at the Border Patrol in El Paso was immediately available for comment.

Diana Washington Valdez may be reached at dvaldez@elpasotimes.com; 546-6140.